George Willard Dickey keets(July 10, 1915 – June 16, 1976) was a backup

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for two different teams between 1935 and 1947. Listed at , 180 lb., Dickey was a switch-hitter and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. He was the younger brother of

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Bill Dickey William Malcolm Dickey (June 6, 1907 – November 12, 1993) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees for 19 seasons. Dickey managed the Yankees as a player-manager in ...

. A native of

Kensett, Arkansas Kensett is a city in White County, Arkansas, United States. Located adjacent to the east side of Searcy, the city is the hometown of noted legislator Wilbur D. Mills, who was influential throughout the 1960s and 1970s in the United States House ...

, Dickey entered the majors in 1935 with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, playing for them until 1936 before joining the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(1941–42, 1946–47). He was one of many major leaguers who saw his baseball career interrupted when he joined the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(1943–45). His most productive season came with the 1947 White Sox, when he appeared in a career-high 83 games while hitting .223 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, six doubles, and 27

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. In a six-season career, Dickey was a .204 hitter (101-for-494) with four home runs and 54 RBI in 226 games, including 36 runs, 12 doubles, and four stolen bases. Dickey married Mildred Allen Dickey and had three children; Mary Allen, Joye, and William. Dickey died in

DeWitt, Arkansas DeWitt is the second largest city in Arkansas County, Arkansas, United States, which also serves as the county seat of the southern district of Arkansas County. Population was 3,292 at the time of the 2010 census. The city is located on the Ark ...

, at the age of 60.

References

Retrosheet
1915 births 1976 deaths Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Arkansas United States Navy personnel of World War II Wheeling Stogies players Scranton Miners players Norfolk Tars players Little Rock Travelers players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Portland Beavers players Oklahoma City Indians players Birmingham Barons players People from Kensett, Arkansas {{US-baseball-catcher-1910s-stub